How to fix Windows stuck in Recovery Mode?

Windows opens its recovery environment by itself after two failed starts in a row, so a PC stuck in recovery mode is a PC that cannot finish starting Windows. Your files are usually still there. Turn the PC off fully, unplug extra devices and select Continue first; then run Startup Repair.

Facts checked on 15 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What Windows recovery mode is and why the PC keeps opening it

Windows recovery mode is the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), a small separate system on its own partition. The Windows recovery screen you see is its menu: Choose an option with Continue, Use a device, Troubleshoot and Turn off your PC. Microsoft builds it into every Windows 11 and Windows 10 desktop edition.

It is not the problem. According to Microsoft, WinRE starts by itself after two failed attempts to start Windows, after two unexpected shutdowns or restarts within two minutes of startup, after a Secure Boot error, or after a BitLocker error on touch only devices. So when the PC is stuck in recovery mode, Windows keeps failing to start and WinRE keeps catching it.

Why Windows gets stuck in the recovery environment: the causes, most common first

When you are stuck in the Windows Recovery Environment, the cause is whatever stops Windows on its way to the desktop. Microsoft splits a start into four phases: firmware, Boot Manager, the OS loader and the kernel. A loop into recovery usually means the later phases fail, where updates, drivers and the registry load.

Where Windows writes why it would not start

The recovery screens rarely say what failed. Microsoft points to these places, and each one narrows the search:

• C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\Srt\SrtTrail.txt: Startup Repair writes it in Fix 2 and shows its path on the result screen. It names the test that failed, for example a boot configuration, a disk or a driver.
• The blue screen stop code: if Windows shows a blue screen before the loop, Fix 7 stops the automatic restart so you can read it.
• Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System: once Windows starts in Safe Mode (Fix 5) or normally, look for Kernel-Power, Disk and BugCheck events around the first failed start.
• What happened last: an update, a new driver, a power cut. The timing is often the best clue you have.

How to fix Windows stuck in recovery mode

Fix 1 and Fix 2 cost nothing and change nothing. Fixes 3 and 4 undo a failed update, Fix 5 and Fix 6 repair drivers, files and the disk, and Fix 7 shows the real error. Fix 8 and Fix 9 are the last resort.

Fix 1. Shut the PC down fully, unplug extra devices and select Continue

5 minutesLow riskEveryone, first. Most of all when the loop began after one freeze or one forced shutdown.

WinRE opens after two failed starts, even when the cause is gone. A USB drive or dock the firmware tries to start from, or a half charged state after a freeze, can cause those failures; a cold start without them often passes.

1. On Choose an option, select Turn off your PC. If the PC is frozen, hold the power button until it turns off.
2. Unplug every USB drive, memory card, external disk, dock and printer. Keep the keyboard, the mouse and one monitor.
3. On a desktop, switch the power supply off for 30 seconds. On a laptop, unplug the charger for 30 seconds.
4. Turn the PC on. If Choose an option appears again, select Continue (Exit and continue to Windows).
5. Wait up to ten minutes without touching the power button: a start after a failed update can be slow.

Fix 2. Run Startup Repair (Quick machine recovery) and read its log

15 to 30 minutesLow riskFix 1 did not help, and the PC opens Automatic Repair or Choose an option at every start.

Startup Repair reads the startup logs, finds why Windows did not start and repairs common causes such as the boot configuration or a missing boot file. Microsoft lists it as the first method for startup problems.

1. On Choose an option, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options.
2. Select Quick machine recovery on Windows 11 26H2, or Startup Repair on Windows 10 and older Windows 11.
3. Pick an administrator account if asked. If the screen asks for a BitLocker recovery key, enter it.
4. Wait until it finishes and the PC restarts. Step by step: Run Startup Repair
5. If you see Your device ran into a problem and couldn't be repaired., note the log path under it. The screen adds Click or press Enter to see other recovery options.; do that to get back to the menu.

Fix 3. Uninstall the latest Windows update from the recovery screen

10 minutesLow riskThe loop began after Windows installed updates, after an overnight restart, or after the screen said Updating Windows.

A quality update that fails at startup makes every start fail the same way, and WinRE then opens again. Removing it from WinRE returns the system files to the previous month's state without touching your files.

1. On Choose an option, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Uninstall Updates.
2. Select Uninstall latest quality update. If that fails or does not help, come back and select Uninstall latest feature update.
3. Pick an administrator account if asked and follow the instructions.
4. Let the PC restart. Once Windows starts, pause updates for a week. Step by step: How to uninstall a Windows update

Fix 4. Clear a half installed update with DISM from the recovery Command Prompt

15 minutesLow riskAn update was cut off, Uninstall Updates failed, or the PC restarts into recovery right after Updating Windows.

An update can leave pending actions that Windows tries to finish at every start. Microsoft's own steps for startup problems after updates are to find pending packages with DISM and revert the pending actions.

1. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
2. Find the Windows drive: type dir C:\Windows, then dir D:\Windows, until one lists the folder. In WinRE it is often not C:.
3. Run DISM /Image:C:\ /Get-Packages with your letter, and look for packages marked Install Pending.
4. Run DISM /Image:C:\ /Cleanup-Image /RevertPendingActions.
5. Type exit and select Continue.

In the recovery Command Prompt (replace C: with your Windows drive):

dir C:\Windows
DISM /Image:C:\ /Get-Packages
DISM /Image:C:\ /Cleanup-Image /RevertPendingActions

Fix 5. Start in Safe Mode and remove the driver or app that crashes Windows

20 minutesLow riskA blue screen came before the loop, or you installed a driver, a graphics update or a security app just before it.

Safe Mode starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and services. If Windows starts there, the cause is a driver or a service that normal mode loads, and you can remove it from a working desktop.

1. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
2. Press 4 for Enable Safe Mode, or 5 for Enable Safe Mode with Networking. Step by step: Start Windows or a Mac in Safe Mode
3. In Safe Mode, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps and uninstall the program you added just before the loop.
4. For a new driver, open Device Manager, right click the device and select Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver.
5. Open Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System and note any BugCheck event. Then restart normally.

Fix 6. Check the disk and repair system files offline with CHKDSK and SFC

30 to 90 minutesLow riskThe PC lost power, the disk was slow or noisy, or SrtTrail.txt names a disk or file problem.

A file system damaged by a power cut, or a damaged system file, makes Windows fail at the same point at every start. Microsoft gives chkdsk /f /r for disk damage and an offline SFC that runs from WinRE.

1. Open Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt and find the Windows drive as in Fix 4.
2. Run chkdsk C: /f /r with your letter. The /r pass can take an hour or more on a large disk. Step by step: Check a disk for errors (chkdsk)
3. Then run sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows with your letter in both places.
4. Read both results, type exit and select Continue.

In the recovery Command Prompt (replace C: with your Windows drive):

chkdsk C: /f /r
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=C:\Windows

Fix 7. Stop the automatic repair loop to see the real error

5 minutesLow riskThe PC goes straight back to Automatic Repair, so you never see what fails, and Fixes 1 to 6 did not help.

Microsoft gives this command for a PC that keeps stopping on the recovery screens. With automatic recovery off, Windows shows its real stop code or freeze point instead of WinRE, which tells you what to fix.

1. Open Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
2. Type bcdedit and find the Windows Boot Loader entry with identifier {current} or {default} and recoveryenabled Yes.
3. Run bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled no. If it reports an error, use {current} instead.
4. Type exit, select Continue and watch the screen. Note any stop code or the point where it stops.
5. When the PC starts again, turn recovery back on with bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled yes.

Fix 8. Return Windows to an earlier state with System Restore

20 to 40 minutesRead the warningFixes 1 to 7 failed and System Protection was on, which it often is after updates and driver installs.

A restore point brings back the registry, drivers and system files from before the loop. Since Windows 10 version 1803 the RegBack folder is no longer filled, and Microsoft recommends a restore point for a damaged registry instead.

1. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.
2. Pick an administrator account and enter its password if asked.
3. Select a restore point dated before the first failed start, then Next and Finish.
4. Do not turn the PC off while it restores. Step by step: Undo recent changes with System Restore

Fix 9. Reset this PC and keep your files

60 to 90 minutesRead the warningEvery fix above failed, the disk checks clean and you need the PC working again.

A reset installs a fresh Windows over the damaged one. With Keep my files it keeps your personal files, so it repairs whatever the other fixes could not reach.

1. Select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC > Keep my files.
2. Choose Cloud download for fresh files from Microsoft, or Local reinstall.
3. If the reset cannot start, make a Windows USB drive with the Media Creation Tool on another PC, start from it and select Repair your computer.
4. After the reset, install your PC maker's chipset and storage drivers first. Full method: Reinstall Windows without losing files

Still stuck in recovery mode: what to collect and whom to ask

When nothing above works, the cause is usually hardware or a disk too damaged to repair. Support can help faster with these facts collected once:

• A photo of each screen you see, and the stop code if Fix 7 showed one.
• What happened before the first loop: an update, a driver, a power cut, a drop.
• The text of SrtTrail.txt from Fix 2, and the CHKDSK and SFC results from Fix 6.
• Your PC or motherboard model, the disk model and whether a Windows USB drive starts.

If the message names a boot configuration error such as 0xc0000242, see our guide to the boot BCD error 0xc0000242, which rebuilds the boot files step by step.

How to keep Windows from getting stuck in recovery mode again

Windows 10 left support on 14 October 2025. A Windows 10 PC gets fixes for update problems only through Extended Security Updates, so moving to Windows 11 keeps them coming.

Frequently asked questions

How do I exit recovery mode on Windows 11?

Select Continue on the Choose an option screen; it reads Exit and continue to Windows 11. That only works when Windows can start. If the PC returns to recovery mode, Windows still fails to start, and Windows will keep opening the recovery screens until the cause is fixed. Shut down fully, unplug USB drives and docks, and try Continue once more (Fix 1). Then run Startup Repair, called Quick machine recovery on Windows 11 26H2.

Why is my Windows 11 PC stuck in recovery mode?

Because Windows itself failed to start more than once. Microsoft lists the triggers: two failed starts in a row, two unexpected shutdowns or restarts within two minutes of startup, a Secure Boot error, or a BitLocker error on touch only devices. The usual reasons behind those failures are an update that failed halfway, a new driver that crashes at startup, damaged system files or a failing disk. The chooser table above points to the first fix for each.

Is Windows 10 stuck in recovery mode fixed the same way?

Yes. Windows 10 22H2 uses the same recovery environment and the same tools, so every fix on this page works. The only visible difference is the name of the repair tile: Startup Repair on Windows 10, Quick machine recovery on Windows 11 26H2. Windows 10 left support on 14 October 2025, so once the PC starts again, plan the move to Windows 11 or enroll in Extended Security Updates.

How do I start Windows recovery from boot?

Turn the PC on and, when the maker's logo appears, hold the power button until it turns off. Do this twice; on the third start Windows should open Automatic Repair, and Advanced options leads to the recovery tools. From a working desktop, open Settings > System > Recovery and select Restart now next to Advanced startup, or hold Shift while you select Restart. A Windows USB drive also opens it with Repair your computer.

What if Windows won't enter the recovery environment at all?

Then the recovery partition is missing, disabled or damaged, or the PC fails before Windows Boot Manager. Make a Windows 11 USB drive with the Media Creation Tool on another PC, start from it with the boot menu key, and select Next and Repair your computer. You get the same Troubleshoot menu and every fix on this page. Once Windows starts, check WinRE with reagentc /info, as our Event 4502 guide explains.

Does F8 still open the recovery options?

Not by default on Windows 11 and Windows 10. The old F8 menu belongs to Windows 7, and modern PCs start too fast for it. Use the recovery screens instead, through two interrupted starts or Shift and Restart. Microsoft gives the command bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy for administrators who want the F8 menu back. Most readers do not need it, because Startup Settings in WinRE offers the same Safe Mode options.

Will I lose my files if I fix the recovery loop?

Usually not. Fixes 1 to 7 do not touch personal files. System Restore removes only apps, drivers and updates installed after the restore point. Reset this PC with Keep my files keeps documents and pictures but removes your apps. Only Remove everything erases personal files, so never pick it while you still need them. If the disk might be failing, copy your files from a Windows USB drive or another PC first.

Should I restore the registry from the RegBack folder?

Not on a current PC. Older guides copy files from C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack, but Microsoft says that starting in Windows 10 version 1803, Windows no longer backs up the registry there by design. On Windows 11 and Windows 10 22H2 the folder is usually empty, and copying empty files over the registry can make things worse. Microsoft recommends a system restore point for a damaged registry, which is Fix 8.

Windows recovery environment says Reset this PC with Remove everything. Is that safe?

It works, but it erases your files, apps and settings on the Windows drive. Choose it only when your files are backed up or you do not need them. Keep my files fixes the same software problems and keeps documents, pictures and the desktop. If you are already in the Remove everything flow, you can go back with the arrow or Cancel before you confirm the reset.

Is a PC stuck in recovery mode a hardware problem?

Sometimes. If a Windows USB drive also fails, if Reset this PC stops with an error, or if CHKDSK reports bad sectors, the disk or the memory is the likely cause. A disk that clicks, is very slow or vanishes from the BIOS is a clear sign. Microsoft also notes that a PC stuck before the logo, with no disk light, is stuck in the firmware phase, which points to hardware.